High Speed Rail in the USA

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Taxpayer Cost of Transportation Systems

Many are against HSR as it is a Federal Government program and as we all know,
the project will be funded by our tax dollars, so why should we invest in this
when we already have aircraft, airports, and highways; the answer is in the
future, not the past or much of the present.

Most do not understand where their tax dollars are spent, or how much an item
cost, or how much labor it takes to build something. That is because we go to
the store, pick out what we desire, pay for it, take it home, and use it,
without any consideration for all the materials, trades, people, and technology
needed to produce the item..

Most also do not understand the residual cost of doing something or using
something, and therefore do not consider this residual cost or who pays the
bills for it.

So, here is a little lesson in USA Taxes: The USA taxpayer's pay for every inch
of USA highways and the bridges, maintenance, snow removal, engineering, design,
construction, patrolling, and such that keeps us going safely to our
destinations..

From Allyson Y. Schwartz, Pennsylvania, Member of Congress

"Transportation and Regional Infrastructure Project Bonds (TRIPs) that would
leverage private investment to provide $50 billion in new transportation
infrastructure funding and empower states and local governments to undertake
significant projects nationwide. TRIPs could be used for all modes of
transportation, including roads, bridges, rail, transit, port and inland
waterways."

"The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that for every $1 billion
invested in transportation infrastructure, we can create or sustain 30,000
good-paying jobs in Pennsylvania. Using that benchmark, the $50 billion of tax
credit bonds under the TRIPs legislation would create 1.5 million new jobs
nationwide to help repave our roads, refurbish our bridges and strengthen our
transit networks."

"Our nation needs a long-term transportation strategy that combines the
cooperation, ingenuity and resources of the private sector and all levels of
government. TRIPs offer an immediate, bipartisan opportunity to move us closer
towards reaching that goal."

Our Proposal is:

Vehicle travel seems like the way to go, you buy a car, keep it, fill it, and
eventually sell it and that is the total cost, or is it…

Actually, the USA taxpayer is paying for the Real Estate to purchase the right
of way, the engineering for the construction, the construction, the monitoring
by the DOT (Department of Transportation), the monitoring by the police and fire
departments, the maintenance of the signs, lines, guard rails, pavement, drains,
islands, overpasses, underpasses, and the bridges, and most of this has to be
rebuilt or repaved every 10 to 20 years. There is also the cost of limiting the
air pollution caused by burning gasoline and other fossil fuels; this air
pollution generates CO2, dirt, acids, and chemicals harmful to the environment,
the water supplies, and the health of the citizens breathing the dirty air;
these cost are 'hidden' but add tens of billions to the Bill the taxpayers have
to pay each year. There are also the added cost of the anti-pollution equipment
on the vehicles, and the cost of yearly inspections and possible maintenances.
Industries like farms, seafood, fishing, etc., are suffering from the airborne
and waterborne pollutants associated with vehicle and gasoline use.

There will cost in building HSR, but most will be eliminated and will save the
users much. In addition HSR will be electric and can use clean alternative
non-polluting energy.

Idea on how to pay for our transportation systems in the USA.. For each employee
that drives to and from work each day, the company should have to pay $1.00 into
a National Transportation Fund... This 'surcharge' (you know those things they
put on us when gasoline was $4.00 per gallon and then never removed when it fell
to $3.35..) can be used to fund the highways, airlines, and rails of the USA.
That $1 would bring in about $160,000,000 per day every day of the year...

After all, we taxpayers have been subsidizing the rails, airlines, and roads for
these company's profits for over 230 years, it is time that they pay us back..
We also can.......

Take 1% from the military subsidy, 1% from the Home Land Security subsidy, 1%
from the
Farm Subsidy, 1% from the Oil company's Subsidies, 1% from the Coal Company
Subsidies, 1% from the Cotton Growers Subsidies, 1% from the State Department's
budget, 1% from the Department of Energy's budget, 1% from the Airline
Subsidies, 1% from the Highway Funding, 1% from the salaries of the top 5% of
Americans, 1% from the Corporations that will each benefit from the system, and
you have a ton of money to spend on Building Something that can be expanded from
Alaska to the tip of Chile and benefit nearly a Billion people and their job
base...